Parents of children at a school in Florida say officials there are going overboard to protect one child who has a peanut allergy.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, the girl's allergy is severe -- her mother said if the six-year-old comes in contact with even a trace of a nut, she will die.
"We're not talking about she will break out in a rash. We are talking about she will die, stop breathing," Tracey Bailey told the Fox station in Orlando.
So officials at Edgewater Elementary School in Edgewater, Florida came up with a series of steps that must be taken. They include making all students in the girl's class rinse out their mouths and wash their hands before coming into class and after lunch, continually wiping down desks with Clorox wipes, banning outside food for parties, and bringing a peanut-sniffing dog onto school grounds. And, of course, no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
"You can't take peanut butter and jelly away or any right away from my child. You can't do that," Yvonne Daniel, the parent of another child in the class, said at a protest outside of the school.
The parents are angry that such drastic steps are being taken to protect one child. They also claim all of the precautions are taking time away from the education of their children.
"On average, it’s probably taking a good 30 minutes out of the day," parent Carrie Starkey said. "That’s my child’s education. Thirty minutes could be a whole subject."
Nancy Wait, spokeswoman for Volusia County Schools, said the school is legally obliged to take the precautions under the Federal Disabilities Act.
"It would be the same thing as putting a handicap ramp for a student that is physically disabled. The only difference with this is that is affects other students," Wait said. "It is an inconvenience and it might seem like it's a bit overboard, but it's what is medically necessary for a particular student and has been signed off on by a physician."
The girl's father apologized for having his daughter's problems inflicted on other students, but he said the measures are necessary to protect her.
"We've fought very hard to put certain things in place to keep her alive in school," David Bailey said. "She's already a cast-out. She can't do things that most kids can do. I would love everything to be normal and everyone else to have a normal life."
I am a parent of a child that suffers with severe peanut allergies. And yes, even if peanuts are in the room my son starts to have a reaction. In replying to the post about "How do they know that this allergy can cause death?" it is probably because they have come very close! My son has had 3 severe reactions where his throat has swollen shut, his tongue is enlarged and he cannot breathe. These were all reactions of cross contamination. We now carry Epi pens which is a temporary fix until you can get to the local hospital.
Our school has taken precautions, very similar to those mentioned in this story. At first I was a little concerned about how he would be perceived from his peers, and I was very surprise to see his classmates rally around him and are very considerate of this deadly allergy. My son gets to pick a friend for his assigned "Peanut Free Table" and every morning they line up begging him to choose them for that day, almost like it's a privilege. It is very encouraging to watch young children act better than some adults.
I just wish people to take a few minutes and think how they would react if this was there child who could loose their life?
My children have attended numerous schools in our transfers, all have had children with peanut allergies attending. This school is going way overboard and yes the child is cast~out her parents have put her in that position. Why didn't the pediatrician make a statement? really fellow students need to mouthwash and they bring in dogs? I can see extra precautions within her classroom (not peanuts) and lunchroom (separate table for nut allergies), but the cost and time of the rest doesn't make sense. do they think this can continue in high school? college? and her work place? they are enabling her to be a victim rather then to persevere
I sympathize with the family however, when your problem becomes everyone else's it's time to look at other options. As the parent of a child with behaviorial issues his constant disruptions in the classroom were taking time away from the other students. Even with medication the probelms existed. Yes the Federal Diabilites Act protected our child however, we didn't think it was fair to his classmates, teacher or aide. We now homeschool because it was for the betterment of everyone involved. It's horrible that their daughter life is impacted so severly and I hope as she gets older she's able to outgrow some of it but right now the parents need to consider other options.
I'm fairly certain most parents wouldn't mind taking 30 minutes of another child's day in order to keep their's alive.
An another note, how did they discover the allergy without her dying? If it's true, the first time she touched a peanut she would have died..
I think there are several exaggerations on both sides and we should give the girl with allergies the benefit of the doubt.